EP3331096B1

EP3331096B1 - Metal housing, antenna device, and mobile terminal

Info

Publication number: EP3331096B1
Application number: EP16894062.5A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Shasha Hu; Tianping LIANG; Liang Gu
Original assignee: Guangdong Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Corp Ltd
Current assignee: Guangdong Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Corp Ltd
Priority date: 2016-03-18
Filing date: 2016-06-13
Publication date: 2020-08-05
Anticipated expiration: 2036-06-13
Also published as: US20180254542A1; WO2017156900A1; US10263334B2; US10084234B2; US20180248252A1; EP3331096A1; US20180248253A1; US10263333B2; EP3331096A4

Description

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a technical field of antennas, and especially to a metal housing, an antenna device, and a mobile terminal applying the antenna device.

BACKGROUND

With the development of science and technology and users' increasing demands on signaling of electronic products, mobile terminals having an antenna, such as a mobile phone, currently on the market usually use a metal housing to provide texture while ensuring the use strength, so as to improve the user's experience. As we all know, the metal is a signal shielding material; in order to prevent a signal shielding effect of the metal housing from influencing the antenna efficiency, the housing is usually designed to adopt a combination of metal and non-metallic areas, the antenna structure is located in the non-metallic area, and the non-metallic area is usually arranged at two ends of the mobile terminal and located outside the shielding display area. A circuit board is arranged in the non-metallic area, electronic components and signal transceiving units are arranged on the circuit board, and antennas of the mobile terminal are usually arranged in the non-metallic area so as to receive and emit signals through the non-metallic area. In the conventional structure, a design of a radiator of the antenna is limited, resulting in a lower radiation efficiency of the antenna.
According to CA2953629A1 , an integrated structure of a metal shell and an antenna of an electronic device (10) are disclosed. The electronic device comprises the metal shell and an antenna structure (20); the antenna structure (20) comprises an antenna main body (21); the metal shell is provided with at least one micro slit system (30) thereon, the at least one micro slit system is formed by micro slits (31) and divides the metal shell into at least one metal zone; and the at least one metal zone is connected with the antenna main body (21) to form a radiation body of the antenna structure.
According to WO2012096894A2 , electronic devices may be provided that contain wireless communications circuitry. The wireless communications circuitry may include antenna structures that are formed from an internal ground plane and a peripheral conductive housing member. A conductive path may be formed that connects the peripheral conductive housing member and the internal ground plane. The conductive path may include a flex circuit. A metal structure may be welded to the peripheral conductive housing member. A solder pad and other traces in the flex circuit may be soldered to the metal structure at one end of the conductive path. At the other end of the conductive path, the flex circuit may be attached to the ground plane using a bracket, screw, and screw boss.

SUMMARY

The object of the present invention is then to solve the problems of related art, through an antenna device as defined in independent claim. Additional features of the present invention are defined in the corresponding depending claims. Additional object of the present invention is a mobile terminal comprising the antenna device of the present invention.
Compared with the prior art, the present disclosure has the following beneficial effect.
In the antenna device and the mobile terminal in embodiments of the present disclosure, the metal housing can be the radiator through a combination of the partitioning member and the radiating circuit, which improves the radiation efficiency of the antenna device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To illustrate the technical solutions in the present disclosure more clearly, the following briefly introduces the accompanying drawings required for describing the embodiments.
Apparently, the accompanying drawings in the following description show merely some embodiments of the present disclosure, those ordinarily skilled in the related art can obtain other drawings in the premise of not paying creative work.

Fig. 1 is a schematic view of a mobile terminal provided in embodiments of the present disclosure.
Fig. 2 is a schematic view of an antenna device provided in a first embodiment of the present disclosure.
Fig. 3 is a schematic view of an antenna device provided in a second embodiment of the present disclosure.
Fig. 4 is an enlarged schematic view of a micro slit zone and a switch electrically coupled with each other illustrated in Fig. 3.
Fig. 5 is an enlarged schematic view of a micro slit zone and a switch electrically coupled with each other in an antenna device provided by other examples of the second embodiment.
Fig. 6 is a schematic view of an antenna device provided in a third embodiment of the present disclosure.
Fig. 7 is an enlarged view of a structure in portion A of Fig. 6.
Fig. 8 is a schematic view of a metal housing provided in a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure.
Fig. 8a to Fig. 8f are schematic views of a first slit in Fig. 8 in different shapes.
Fig. 9 is a schematic view of an antenna device provided in a first example of the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure.
Fig. 10 is a circuit diagram of the antenna device illustrated in Fig. 9.
Fig. 11 is a schematic view of an antenna device provided in a second example of the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure.
Fig. 12 is a circuit diagram of the antenna device illustrated in Fig. 11.
Fig. 13 is a schematic view of an antenna device provided in the present invention.
Fig. 14 is a schematic view of an antenna device provided in an example of the fifth embodiment of the present disclosure.
Fig. 15 is a schematic view of an antenna device provided in a first example of a sixth embodiment of the present disclosure.
Fig. 16 is a circuit diagram corresponding to a third matching circuit in Fig. 15.
Fig. 17 is a circuit diagram corresponding to a fourth matching circuit in Fig. 15.
Fig. 18 is a schematic view in which a second micro slit zone in Fig. 15 is an earphone jack.
Fig. 19 is a schematic view of an antenna device provided in a second example of the sixth embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure will be described clearly and completely below with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present disclosure. Apparently, the described embodiments are merely some but not all embodiments of the present disclosure. All other embodiments obtained by persons of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of the present disclosure without creative efforts shall fall into the protection scope of the present disclosure.
The present disclosure provides a metal housing, the metal housing includes a first edge and a second edge arranged opposite to each other, and a third edge and a fourth edge arranged opposite to each other, the third edge and the fourth edge being connected between the first edge and the second edge, a partitioning member being provided in the metal housing so that at least one radiating part is formed in the metal housing.
In another aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure further provide an antenna device including a metal housing and a radiating circuit. The metal housing includes a first edge and a second edge arranged opposite to each other, and a third edge and a fourth edge arranged opposite to each other. The third edge and the fourth edge are connected between the first edge and the second edge. A partitioning member is provided in the metal housing so that at least one radiating part is formed in the metal housing. The radiating circuit is provided in the metal housing so that the at least one radiating part of the metal housing serves as a radiator of the antenna device.
In yet another aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure further provide a mobile terminal. The mobile phone includes an antenna device. The antenna device includes a metal housing and a radiating circuit. The metal housing includes a first edge and a second edge arranged opposite to each other, and a third edge and a fourth edge arranged opposite to each other, the third edge and the fourth edge being connected between the first edge and the second edge. A partitioning member is provided in the metal housing so that at least one radiating part is formed in the metal housing, and the radiating circuit is provided in the metal housing so that the at least one radiating part of the metal housing serves as a radiator of the antenna device.
As illustrated in Fig. 1, the present disclosure relates to a mobile terminal 100, an antenna device is provided in the mobile terminal 100, and the mobile terminal 100 can be a smart phone, a
tablet computer and etc. The mobile terminal 100 includes a display screen and a metal housing. A non-display area is usually provided at a top and/or bottom of the display screen of the mobile terminal 100, and electronic elements such as a camera unit, a telephone receiver, a Bluetooth unit, a finger recognition unit and the like are provided in the non-display area. A main board of the mobile terminal 100 is also arranged in the non-display area.
As illustrated in Fig. 2, which is a schematic view of an antenna device 200 provided in a first embodiment of the present disclosure, the antenna device 200 includes a metal housing 1 and a radiating circuit 30. The metal housing 1 includes a first long edge L1 and a second long edge L2 arranged opposite to each other, and a first short edge S1 and a second short edge S2 arranged opposite to each other. The first short edge S1 and the second short edge S2 are connected between the first long edge L1 and the second long edge L2. A partitioning member 20 is provided in the metal housing 1 so that at least one radiating part 10 is formed in the metal housing 1. The radiating circuit 30 is provided in the metal housing 1 so that the at least one radiating part 10 of the metal housing 1 serves as a radiator of the antenna device 200. With the combination of the partitioning member 20 and the radiating circuit 30, the metal housing 1 is enabled to be the radiator, thus radiation efficiency of the antenna device 200 is increased. It is to be noted that Fig. 2 is a simple schematic view of the antenna device 200, and for specific structure forms of the metal housing 1, the partitioning member 20, and the radiating circuit 30 in the antenna device 200, reference may be made to the following embodiments.
Referring to Fig. 3 and Fig. 4, which is an antenna device 300 provided in a second embodiment of the present disclosure. In the antenna device 300, a metal housing 1 is an end-to-end peripheral frame. The partitioning member includes a micro slit zone 102, the micro slit zone 102 has at least two metal strips 114 juxtaposed and spaced apart from each other, the metal housing 1 is partitioned by the micro slit zone 102 to form at least one frame body 101, and the frame body 101 is the radiating part. The radiating circuit includes a switch 103, the switch 103 includes a first end 131 and a second end 132, the first end 131 is electrically coupled to the frame body 101 partitioned by the micro slit zone 102, and the second end 132 is electrically coupled to the metal strips 114.
The radiating circuit further includes a matching circuit 105 and a radio-frequency circuit 106, the matching circuit 105 is arranged between the radio-frequency circuit 106 and the frame body 101, and the matching circuit 105 is electrically coupled with both of the radio-frequency circuit 106 and the frame body 101.
Specifically, as illustrated in Fig. 3, in an embodiment, four micro slit zones 102 are provided in the metal housing 1. Every two micro slit zones 102 form the frame body 101 serving as an independent antenna, and the frame body 101 includes at least a first frame body 1011 and a second frame body 1012. The matching circuit 105 is located between the radio-frequency circuit 106 and the first frame body 1011 and electrically coupled with the radio-frequency circuit 106 and the first frame body 1012. The matching circuit 105 is used to match impedance of the antenna so as to decrease echo return loss caused by impendence mismatch. In other embodiments, the number of the micro slit zone 102 can be determined by actual demands. For example, one or two or three micro slit zones 102 can be provided.
As illustrated in Fig. 4, the micro slit zone 102 is formed by at least two micro slits 113 arranged spaced apart, and the metal strips 114 exist between two adjacent micro slits 113. In the present embodiment, a case where four micro slits 113 and three metal strips 114 are provided is described as an example. In other embodiments, the numbers of the micro slits 113 and the metal strips 114 are not limited to this and are determined by specific design requirements.
In the present embodiment, a width of the micro slit zone 102 is 1.5mm∼5.0mm, a width of each micro slit 113 in the micro slit zone 102 is 0.05mm∼0.3mm, and the micro slits 113 are equidistantly spaced apart. The equidistantly spaced arrangement of the micro slits 113 is easy to process. In other embodiments, widths of the micro slit zone 102 and the micro slits 113 are determined by the specific design requirements and technology precision, and/or the micro slits 113 are spaced apart at unequal intervals. The width of the micro slit zone 102 can be 1.5mm or 5.0mm, and a slit width of the micro slits 113 in the micro slit zone 102 can be 0.05mm or 0.3mm.
As illustrated in Fig. 4, the switch 103 includes the first end 131 and the second end 132. The first end 131 of the switch 103 is electrically coupled with the first frame body 1011, and the second end 132 is electrically coupled with one metal strip 114 in the micro slit zone 102. When the switch 103 is closed, an equivalent length of the antenna is lengthened, and a resonant frequency of the antenna of the first frame body 1011 is decreased. When the switch 103 is open, the equivalent length of the antenna is shortened, and the resonant frequency of the antenna increases compared with the resonant frequency in condition that the switch 103 is closed. A low-frequency bandwidth of the antenna changes along with a change of the resonant frequency of the antenna. Thus, with the closed or open states of the switch, different low-frequency bandwidths can be obtained, which not only expands the low-frequency bandwidth, but also increases a freedom degree of antenna performance adjustment. In the present embodiment, the switch 103 is a single-pole single-throw switch, the second end 132 of the switch 103 can be only electrically coupled to one metal strip 114, and thus only one low-frequency bandwidth can be expanded.
Certainly, in other embodiments, the switch can also be other types of switches. As illustrated in Fig. 5, the switch 103 is a single-pole dual-throw switch, and the switch 103 includes two second ends 142. The two second ends 142 of the switch 103 are electrically coupled to two different metal strips 114 separately. In the present embodiment, with different on-off states of the switch 103, two low-frequency bandwidths can be expanded. In other embodiments, the switch 103 can be other types of single-pole multi-throw switches. For example, the switch 103 is a single-pole three-throw switch. The switch 103 includes a plurality of second ends 132, and the plurality of second ends 132 can be electrically coupled to more different metal strips 114 separately, thus the low-frequency bandwidths can be expanded further so as to increase the freedom degree of the antenna performance adjustment.
Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, an inductor or a capacitor element is connected between the switch 103 and the metal strips 114. Providing the inductor or the capacitor can further facilitate the adjustment of the antenna performance. In other embodiments, the number of the switches 103 can be other numbers such as two. The first frame body 1011 is electrically coupled with one or a plurality of metal strips 114 of an adjacent micro slit zone 102 via one of the two switches 103, and the second frame body 1012 is electrically coupled with one or a plurality of metal strips 114 of another adjacent micro slit zone 102 via the other of the two switches 103. Thus, the adjustment and expansion of the antenna performance of different antennas all can be performed by the switches.
The first frame body 1011 can be a GPS antenna, the second frame body 1012 can be a Wi-Fi antenna. Other two frame bodies formed by the partitioning of the four micro slit zones 102 can be a Bluetooth antenna and a near field communication (NFC) antenna.
Accordingly, in the antenna device 300 according to the present disclosure, by providing the micro slit zone 102 including at least two metal strips 114 spaced apart for the metal housing 1 which is the peripheral frame, the metal housing 1 is partitioned into at least one frame body 101 serving as the independent antenna and metal strips 114 located between adjacent micro slits, so that two ends of the switch 103 are electrically coupled to the frame body 101 and the metal strips 114. When the on-off states of the switch 103 changes, the equivalent length of the antenna changes, and the resonant frequency of the antenna changes therewith, so that different low-frequency bandwidth can be obtained, thus the low-frequency bandwidth of the antenna device 300 is expanded and the freedom degree of the adjustment of the antenna performance is increased.
Referring to Fig. 6, which is an antenna device 400 provided in the third embodiment of the present disclosure. In the antenna device 400, the metal housing 1 is the end-to-end peripheral frame; the peripheral frame is provided with the first long edge L1 and the second long edge L2 arranged opposite to each other, and the first short edge S1 and the second short edge S2 arranged opposite to each other. The first short edge S1 and the second short edge S2 are connected between the first long edge L1 and the second long edge L2. The partitioning member includes a micro slit zone 104, the micro slit zone 104 has at least two metal strips juxtaposed and spaced apart from each other, and a micro slit 140 is formed between two adjacent metal strips. The micro slit zone 104 partitions the metal housing 1 to form at least one frame body, and the frame body is the radiating part.
At least two micro slit zones 14 are provided in the metal housing 1, and the at least two micro slit zones 14 partition the metal housing 1 into at least two frame bodies. The at least two frame bodies include a first antenna 111, that is, one of the two frame bodies is the first antenna 111. The micro slit zone 104 has at least one micro slit 140, and a width T1 of the micro slit 140 is smaller than or equal to 0.2mm. The radiating circuit includes a first matching circuit 121 and a first radio-frequency receiving and emitting circuit 131, the first matching circuit 121 is electrically coupled to the first antenna 111, and the first radio-frequency receiving and emitting circuit 131 is electrically coupled to the first matching circuit 121. In the antenna device 400, at least two micro slit zones 14 are used to partition the metal housing 1 made of a metal material into at least two frame bodies independent from each other, and one of the two frame bodies is configured as the first antenna 111 to realize an antenna function of the antenna device 400, so that the metal housing 1 is prevented from interfering with the antenna signals. Meanwhile, the micro slit zone 104 is formed by at least one micro slit 140, the width T1 of the micro slit 140 is smaller than or equal to 0.2mm, and the slit smaller than or equal to 0.2mm is invisible to naked eyes, so the micro slit zone 104 can make the mobile terminal applying the antenna device 400 achieve a monolithic peripheral frame effect of the entire signal shielding material in the naked eye vision while guaranteeing a partitioning effect. Furthermore, when metal is adopted as the signal shielding material, the mobile terminal applying the antenna device 400 has a more textured appearance.
It should be understood that the first radio-frequency receiving and emitting circuit 131 described in the present embodiment is used to receive and emit a radio-frequency signal and also named as a radio frequency chip. The first matching circuit 121 is used to adjust impedance matching of the first antenna 111 so that the first antenna 111 can receive the radio-frequency signal better.
In the first example, when one micro slit 140 is provided, that is only one micro slit 140 is provided in the micro slit zone 104, the width T1 of the micro slit 140 satisfies: 0.1mm≤T1≤0.2mm, so as to guarantee that the micro slit zone 104 can smoothly partition the metal housing 1 into at least two frame bodies independent from each other, and the two frame bodies are distant from each other at at least 0.1mm, so that the partitioning effect is guaranteed.
Referring to Fig. 7, in the second example, when at least two micro slits 140 are provided, that is, when the micro slit zone 104 includes at least two micro slits 140, a distance between the adjacent two micro slits 140 is T2, and the micro slit zone 104 satisfies: T2≥T1, so that a ratio of a slit area in the micro slit zone 104 is smaller than 50%, which can further guarantee that the mobile terminal applying the antenna device 400 has the monolithic peripheral frame effect of the entire signal shielding material in the naked eye vision.
Further, a ratio of the distance T2 between the adjacent micro slits 140 to the width T1 of the micro slit 140 is larger than or equal to 1.2. More preferably, T2/T1≥2.
Optionally, the micro slit zone 104 includes four micro slits 140, and the width T1 of the micro slit 140 satisfies: T1≤0.12mm, which makes the effect of being invisible to naked eyes of the micro slit 140 better. Further, T1 is preferably to be 0.04mm∼0.08mm, and optimally, T1=0.06mm.
Further, the micro slit 140 is filled with a signal non-shielding material such as plastic or rubber. An exterior color of the signal non-shielding material is identical to that of the metal housing 1 so as to make the mobile terminal applying the antenna device 400 have a more holistic appearance.
Further, the micro slit zone 104 further includes a frame strip 141 formed between the adjacent micro slits 140, and the frame strip 141 is made of the same material as the metal housing 1. In the present embodiment, the micro slit zone 104 can be an integral structure including the micro slit 140 and the frame strip 141, and the micro slit zone 104 can be embedded into the metal housing 1 in an inlaid manner so as to realize the partitioning function in the antenna device 400. In this case, the frame strip 141 can also be made of a material different from the metal housing 1, as long as the frame strip 141 has the same outer surface as the metal housing 1 in appearance. Certainly, in other embodiment, the metal housing 1 can be penetrated by laser cutting to form the micro slit 140, in which case the frame strip 141 is a portion of the metal housing 1 uncut by the laser, and the micro slit 140 and the frame strip 141 form the micro slit zone 104 together. The plurality of the micro slits 140 are arranged spaced apart or arranged crosswise.
Further, the antenna device 400 further includes a rear cover (not illustrated), the rear cover is made of a signal shielding material and connected to the metal housing 1, and the rear cover is grounded, so as to increase a bandwidth of the first antenna 111. Preferably, the rear cover is made of the same material as the peripheral frame so that the electrical connection effect of the rear cover and the peripheral frame is better.
Referring to Fig. 6, as an optional embodiment, the at least two frame bodies of the antenna device 400 further includes a second antenna 112, that is, the other frame body is the second antenna 112. The antenna device 400 further includes a second matching circuit 122 and a second radio-frequency receiving and emitting circuit 132, the second matching circuit 122 is electrically coupled between the second antenna 112 and the second radio-frequency receiving and emitting circuit 132, and the second radio-frequency receiving and emitting circuit 132 and the first radio-frequency receiving and emitting circuit 131 are used to deal with different radio-frequency signals.
For example, the first radio-frequency receiving and emitting circuit 131 can be used to deal with functional signals such as GPS signals, Bluetooth signals or Wi-Fi signals, and the second radio-frequency receiving and emitting circuit 132 can also be used to deal with functional signals such as GPS signals, Bluetooth signals or Wi-Fi signals. The first radio-frequency receiving and emitting circuit 131 and the second radio-frequency receiving and emitting circuit 132 can deal with radio-frequency signals of the same signal types and different signal frequency bands, or the radio-frequency signals of different signal types.
In the present embodiment, the mobile terminal applying the antenna device 400 can have antennas of a plurality of functions, and the antennas of the plurality of functions are integrated into the same metal housing 1, which is beneficial for the multi-functionalization and microminiaturization design of the mobile terminal.
Referring to Fig. 6, preferably, four micro slit zones 14 can be arranged spaced apart in the metal housing 1 of the antenna device 400, the four micro slit zones 14 partition the metal housing 1 into four frame bodies independent from each other, and the four frame bodies form the first antenna 111, the second antenna 112, a third antenna 113 and a fourth antenna 114. The antenna device 400 further includes the first matching circuit 121, the second matching circuit 122, a third matching circuit 123, and a fourth matching circuit 124 as well as the first radio-frequency receiving and emitting circuit 131, the second radio-frequency receiving and emitting circuit 132, a third radio-frequency receiving and emitting circuit 133 and a fourth radio-frequency receiving and emitting circuit 134 used for dealing with different radio-frequency signals. The first matching circuit 121 is electrically coupled between the first antenna 111 and the first radio-frequency receiving and emitting circuit 131, the second matching circuit 122 is electrically coupled between the second antenna 112 and the second radio-frequency receiving and emitting circuit 132, the third matching circuit 123 is electrically coupled between the third antenna 113 and the third radio-frequency receiving and emitting circuit 133, and the fourth matching circuit 124 is electrically coupled between the fourth antenna 114 and the fourth radio-frequency receiving and emitting circuit 134. In the present embodiment, the antenna device 400 can deal with four different radio-frequency signals at the same time, which is beneficial for the multi-functionalization and microminiaturization design of the mobile terminal applying the antenna device 400. Certainly, in other examples, the number of the micro slit zones 14 can be set according to actual requirements.
Referring to Fig. 8 to Fig. 12 together, which is an antenna device 500 provided by the fourth embodiments of the present disclosure. The metal housing 1 in the antenna device 500 is the rear cover of the mobile terminal, which is adjacent to a battery and also named as a battery cover. The metal housing 1 includes a backboard 15 and a side frame 16 integrally connected to the backboard 15. The side frame 16 of the metal housing 1 includes the first long edge L1 and the second long edge L2 arranged opposite to each other and the first short edge S1 and the second short edge S2 arranged opposite to each other. The first short edge S1 and the second short edge S2 are connected between the first long edge L1 and the second long edge L2. The partitioning member includes a first slit 11 and a first micro slit zone 12, the first micro slit zone 12 is in physical contact with the first slit 11 and a side edge of the metal housing 1 to form a first insulation section, so that the first insulation section partitions the metal housing 1 into two radiating parts. For ease of description, the two radiating parts herein includes a first radiating part 13 and a second radiating part 14, and the radiating circuit includes a first feeding point 2, a ground point 3 and a first matching circuit 4. The first feeding point 2 and the ground point 3 are provided in the second radiating part 14, and the first feeding point 2 is electrically coupled to the first radiating part 13 via the first matching circuit 4 to feed so as to make the first radiating part 13 form a radiating arm of the antenna device 500. The first radiating part 13 is electrically coupled to the ground point 3 to make the second radiating part 14 form a radiating ground. In such a way, electric current flows to the first radiating part 13 through the feeding point, and flows into the second radiating part 14 serving as the radiating ground from the first radiating part 13, so that a complete circuit-loop is formed and the metal housing 1 is realized to be the antenna device 500. Certainly, in other embodiments, the metal housing 1 can also be a flat and straight backboard 15.
In the present embodiment, in order to improve the overall appearance of the metal housing 1, the first slit 11 includes an arc segment 1101 and a straight-line segment 1102 connected with two ends of the arc segment 1101. Specifically, the arc segment 1101 includes a first rounded section 111a, a straight section 111b and a second rounded section 111c connected sequentially, the straight-line segment 1102 is connected to an end of the first rounded section 111a and an end of the second rounded section 111c. Certainly, in other embodiments, as illustrated in Fig. 8a, the first slit 11 can also be in a crescent shape; as illustrated in Fig. 8b, the first slit 11 can also have a shape of a long rectangle with round corners; as illustrated in Fig. 8c, the first slit 11 can also be rectangular; as illustrated in Fig. 8d, the first slit 11 can also be wavy; as illustrated in Fig. 8e, the first slit 11 can also be lightning-shaped; as illustrated in Fig. 8f, the first slit 11 can also be a circular hole and etc.
In the present embodiment, in order to enhance the metal texture of the metal housing 1, the slit width of the first slit 11 is smaller than or equal to 3 mm, which makes the first slit 11 invisible to naked eyes. The first slit 11 extends from the first long edge L1 to the second long edge L2, the first slit 11 is adjacent to the first short edge S1, and the first radiating part 13 is located between the first short edge S1 and the first slit 11. It could be understood that the first slit 11 can be arranged at a joint of the backboard 15 and the side frame 16 so as to further make the first slit 11 uneasy to observe and kept away from hands of the users, which improves the efficiency of the antenna device 500. The first slit 11 can also be arranged in the backboard 15. In this case, one first slit 11 is provided herein, but it could be understood that two first slits 11 can be provided, and the two first slits 11 are arranged in a mirroring manner in the metal housing 1 and are adj acent to the first short edge S1 and the second short edge S2 respectively. The structure of the metal housing 1 in the sixth embodiment of the present disclosure can be referred to for details. That is, the second slit 17 in the sixth embodiment in the present disclosure is equivalent to the first slit 11 in the embodiment of the present disclosure. Certainly, in other embodiments, the first slit 11 can also be adjacent to the second short edge S2.
In the present embodiment, two ends of the first micro slit zone 12 cut off the side edge of the metal housing 1 and an edge of the first slit 11, and the side edge cut off is enabled to be in physical contact with the first slit 11 to form the first insulation section. The first micro slit zone 12 includes a plurality of micro slits, and the plurality of micro slits is juxtaposed and spaced apart. The slit width of the micro slit is smaller than 0.5mm so as to make the first micro slit zone 12 invisible to naked eyes and improve a proportion of the metal in the metal housing 1 further. It could be understood that the first micro slit zone 12 can further include one micro slit. It could be understood that the micro slit can be further filled with the signal non-shielding material, such as plastic or silica gel. Certainly, in other embodiments, the first micro slit zone 12 can also be formed by a slit having a lager slit width, and for example the slit width is larger than 0.5mm.
Several arrangement methods of the first micro slit zone 12 in the metal housing 1 are as follows. Different position relationships among the first micro slit zone 12, the feeding point and the ground point 3 also lead to different antenna forms.
In the first example, referring to Fig. 9, the first micro slit zone 12 is in physical contact with the first long edge L1 and the first slit 11, and the first matching circuit 4 is located between the ground point 3 and the first micro slit zone 12. Specifically, the first insulation section is parallel with the first short edge S1 and cuts off the first long edge L1, that is, the radiating arm from the first micro slit zone 12 to the ground point 3 is formed in the first radiating part 13; the first matching circuit 4 is more adjacent to the ground point 3 compared with the first micro slit zone 12; and the antenna device 500 of a F-type antenna is formed. Referring to Fig. 10, the circuit is such that the electric current flows through the first radiating part 13 from the first feeding point 2, the electric current in the first radiating part 13 is divided into two flows of electric current, one is grounded and the other flows to the first micro slit zone 12, that is, the first micro slit zone 12 plays a role of insulation herein, preventing the electric current flowing through it from continuing flowing and radiating the electric current out. Certainly, in other embodiments, two or three or other number of first micro slit zones can be provided, which are arranged correspondingly according the requirements of the first radiating part 13. For example, two first micro slit zones 12 can be provided, one first micro slit zones 12 is in physical contact with the first long edge L1 and the first slit 11, and the other first micro slit zone 12 is in physical contact with the first short edge S1 and the first slit 11, or the other first micro slit zone 12 is in physical contact with the second long edge L2 and the first slit 11. The first matching circuit 4, the first feeding point 2 and the ground point 3 can be located between the two first micro slit zones 12.
In the second example, referring to Fig. 11, the first micro slit zone 12 is in physical contact with the first short edge S1 and the first slit 11, and the first micro slit zone 12 is located between the first matching circuit 4 and the ground point 3. Specifically, the first micro slit zone 12 is adjacent to the second long edge L2 (certainly, the first micro slit zone 12 can also be adjacent to the first long edge L1), the first insulation section forms to be substantially L-shaped, and the first matching circuit 4 is more adjacent to the second long edge L2 compared with the first micro slit zone 12, which makes the first micro slit zone 12 located between the first matching circuit 4 and the ground point 3, such that the antenna device 500 of the LOOP-type antenna is formed. Referring to Fig. 12, the circuit is such that the electric current flows through the first radiating part 13 from the first feeding point 2, the electric current in the first radiating part 13 flows towards the first micro slit zone 12, and then flows to the ground point 3 after being excited by the first micro slit zone 12 acting as the capacitor. It can be seen that functions of the first micro slit zone 12 herein differs from functions of the first micro slit zone 12 in the above-mentioned embodiment according to different antenna forms arranged in the first slit 11.
In summary, the antenna device 500 is described as above, in which the first slit 11 of the metal housing 1 is arranged to have only one antenna form.
Referring to Fig. 13 and 14, which is an antenna device 600 according to the present invention and to the fifth embodiment of the present disclosure, respectively, the antenna device 600 is the substantially same as the antenna device 500 in the fourth embodiment, and the difference is that the first slit 11 of the metal housing 1 in the present embodiment is arranged so that the antenna device 600 has two antenna forms.
In the present invention, referring to Fig. 13, the radiating circuit further includes a second matching circuit 6 and a second feeding point 5 electrically coupled to the first radiating part 13 via the second matching circuit 6. Two first micro slit zones 12 are provided, one of the two first micro slit zones 12 is in physical contact with the first long edge L1 and the first slit 11, and the first matching circuit 4 is located between the ground point 3 and the said first micro slit zone 12; and the other first micro slit zone 12 is in physical contact with the first short edge S1 and the first slit 11, and the other first micro slit zone 12 is located between the second matching circuit 6 and the ground point 3. Specifically, two antennas are provided in the first slit 11, one is the F-type antenna arranged in the first slit 11 provided in the fourth embodiment, and the other is the LOOP-type antenna arranged in the first slit 11 provided in the fourth embodiment, that is, the F-type antenna and the LOOP-type antenna are both arranged in the first slit 11 in the present embodiment, so as to meet the demand of each component in the mobile terminal for different bandwidths further. The arrangements of the F-type antenna and the LOOP-type antenna can refer to two examples of the fourth embodiment for details, which will not be repeated here.
In the example, referring to Fig. 14, the radiating circuit further includes the second matching circuit 6 and the second feeding point 5 electrically coupled to the first radiating part 13 via the second matching circuit 6; two first micro slit zones 12 are provided, one of the two first micro slit zones 12 is in physical contact with the first long edge L1 and the first slit 11 and the first matching circuit 4 is located between the ground point 3 and the said first micro slit zone 12, and the other first micro slit zone 12 is in physical contact with the second long edge L2 and the first slit 11 and the second matching circuit 6 is located between the other first micro slit zone 12 and the ground point 3. Specifically, the position relationship among the one first micro slit zone 12, the first matching circuit 4 and the ground point 3 in the first slit 11 forms the F-type antenna, and the arrangement of the F-type antenna can refer to the first example in the fourth embodiment for details. The second matching circuit 6 is more adjacent to the first long edge L1 compared with the ground point 3, but the second matching circuit 6 is also located between the ground point 3 and the other first micro slit zone 12, that is, the other micro slit zone, the second matching circuit 6 and the ground point 3 also form the F-type antenna in the first slit 11. In summary, the first slit 11 of the metal housing 1 is arranged to form the antenna device 600 having two F-type antennas.
Referring to Fig. 15 to 19, which is an antenna device 700 according to the sixth embodiment of the present disclosure, the antenna device 700 is the substantially same as the antenna device 600 in the fifth embodiment, and the differences lie in that the partitioning member further includes a second slit 17 and a second micro slit zone 18, and the radiating circuit further includes a third matching circuit 8 and a third feeding point 7. The second micro slit zone 18 is in physical contact with the second slit 17 and the side edge of the metal housing separately so as to form a second insulation section, so that the first insulation section and the second insulation section partition the metal housing 1 into the first radiating part 13, the second radiating part 14 and a third radiating part 19. The second slit 17 extends from the first long edge L1 to the second long edge L2, the second slit 17 is adjacent to the second short edge S2, and the third radiating part 19 is located between the second short edge S2 and the second slit 17, the third feeding point 7 is electrically coupled to the third radiating part 19 via the third matching circuit 8, and the third radiating part 19 is electrically coupled to the second radiating part 14. Specifically, the first insulation section and the second insulation section partition the metal housing 1 into three radiators, and by providing the ground point 3, the second radiating part 14 becomes the radiating ground of each antenna formed in the metal housing 1. It could be understood that the second slit 17 and the first slit 11 have the same structure as each other, and the second micro slit zone 18 and the first micro slit zone 12 have the same structure as each other.
Several arrangement methods of the second micro slit zone 18 in the metal housing 1 are as follows. Different position relationships among the second micro slit zone 18, the feeding point and the ground point 3 also lead to different antenna forms.
In the first example, referring to Fig. 15, the arrangement method of the antenna in the first slit 11 is preferably the first example of the antenna device 600 in the fifth embodiment, which has a plurality of bandwidths, thereby further improving the antenna performance of the antenna device 700. Certainly, in other embodiments or examples, the arrangement method of the antenna in the first slit 11 can also be the arrangement method of the antenna or implementation manner of antenna devices in other embodiments or examples of the specification without conflicting with each other.
The second micro slit zone 18 is in physical contact with the second short edge S2 and the second slit 17, and the third matching circuit 8 is located between the ground point 3 and the second micro slit zone 18. Specifically, the second micro slit zone 18 is adjacent to the second long edge L2, and the third matching circuit 8 is adjacent to the first long edge L1. Referring to Fig. 16, as the second radiating part 14 serves as the radiating ground, the electric current flows from the third feeding point 7 and through the third matching circuit 8 to the third radiating part 19, the electric current is divided into two flows of electric currents, one flows towards the first long edge L1 to enter the second radiating part 14, and the other flows towards the second micro slit zone 18 to form an inverse F-type antenna, in which case the second micro slit zone 18 plays a role of insulation and prevents the electric current flowing through it from continuing flowing, and the electric current is radiated out.
Further, the radiating circuit further includes a fourth matching circuit 10 and a fourth feeding point 9 electrically coupled to the third radiating part 19 via the fourth matching circuit 10, the fourth matching circuit 10 is located between the second micro slit zone 18 and the ground point 3, and the second micro slit zone 18 is located between the third matching circuit 8 and the fourth matching circuit 10. Specifically, the second micro slit zone 18 is adjacent to the fourth matching circuit 10, and the fourth matching circuit 10 is adjacent to the second long edge L2. Referring to Fig. 17, the second radiating part 14 is the radiating ground of each antenna, so the second long edge L2 is grounded, and hence the fourth matching circuit 10 is located between the second micro slit zone 18 and the second long edge L2 being grounded, which also forms the inverse F-type antenna. Different from the above-mentioned inverse F-type antenna, as the second micro slit zone 18 is more adjacent to the fourth matching circuit 10, the radiating arm corresponding to the third matching circuit 8 is longer than the radiating arm of the fourth matching circuit 10, and the bandwidths of the two kinds of inverse F-type antennas are different, which can meet the demand of each component in the mobile terminal for the bandwidth further. Certainly, in other embodiments, the second micro slit zone 18 can be more adjacent to the third matching circuit 8.
Further, referring to Fig. 18, the second micro slit zone 18 can be replaced by an earphone jack provided in the second short edge S2, as long as the second slit 17 can be divided into two parts.
In the second example, referring to Fig. 19, the arrangement method of the antenna in the first slit 11 is preferably the second example of the antenna device 600 in the fifth embodiment, which has a plurality of bandwidths, thereby improving the antenna performance of the antenna device 700 further. Certainly, in other embodiments or examples, the arrangement method of the antenna in the first slit 11 can also be the arrangement method of the antenna or implementation manner of antenna devices in other embodiments or examples of the specification without conflicting with each other.
Two second micro slit zones 18 are provided, one is in physical contact with the first long edge L1 and the second slit 17, the other is in physical contact with the second long edge L2 and the second slit 17, and the third matching circuit 8 is located between the two second micro slit zones 18. Specifically, the two second micro slit zones 18 and the second slit 17 form the second insulation section parallel with the second short edge S2, and the whole third radiating part 19 forms the radiating arm of the antenna. The electric current flows towards the third radiating part 19 through the third feeding point 7 and the third matching circuit 8, and is divided into two flows of electric currents which flow to the two second micro slit zones 18 respectively. In summary, three types of antennas are formed in the metal housing 1 in the present embodiment.
It could be understood that, an antenna body is directly coupled to the metal housing 1.
It could be understood that a feeding mode of the antenna in the metal housing 1 can be direct feeding or coupled feeding.
In the antenna device 500, 600, and 700, the metal housing 1 is partitioned into the first radiating part 13 and the second radiating part 14 by the first insulation section formed by the first slit 11 and the first micro slit zone 12, and the first feeding point 2 is electrically coupled to the first radiating part 13 via the first matching circuit 4 to perform feeding, so that the first radiating part 13 becomes the radiating arm of the antenna device 500, 600, 700. The first radiating part 13 is electrically coupled to the ground point 3 so that the second radiating part 14 forms the radiating ground, such that the metal housing 1 forms the antenna device 500, 600, 700. By making use of the structure of the metal housing 1 of the mobile terminal, the antenna device 500, 600, 700 has a large radiating area and does not need any additional antenna radiator, which not only improves the radiation efficiency of the antenna device 500, 600, and 700, but also enables an overall structure of the mobile terminal to be simplified, thus facilitating the cost reduction of the mobile terminal.
The embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail above. Specific examples are used herein to describe the principles and embodiments of the present disclosure. The description of the above embodiments is merely used to help understand the method and core idea of the present disclosure. Meanwhile, those of ordinary skill in the art, based on the idea of the present disclosure, may make changes in the specific embodiments and application scopes. In summary, the content of the present specification should not be construed as a limitation on the present disclosure.

Claims

An antenna device, comprising a metal housing (1) and a radiating circuit, the metal housing comprising a first edge and a second edge arranged opposite to each other, and a third edge and a fourth edge arranged opposite to each other, the third edge and the fourth edge being connected between the first edge and the second edge, a partitioning member (20) being provided in the metal housing (1) so that at least one radiating part is formed in the metal housing (1); wherein the metal housing (1) comprises a backboard (15) and a side frame (16), the side frame (16) is integrally connected to the backboard (15), the partitioning member (20) comprises a first slit (11) and a first slit zone (12), the first slit (11) extends from the first edge to the second edge and is adjacent to the third edge, the first slit zone (12) comprises a plurality of slits and at least two metal strips (114) juxtaposed and spaced apart from each other, and the first slit zone (12) is in physical contact with both of the first slit (11) and the edge of the metal housing so that the first slit zone (12), the first slit (11) and the edge of the metal housing cooperate to form a first insulation section, and the first insulation section partitions the metal housing into two radiating parts, the radiating circuit is provided in the metal housing (1) so that the radiating part of the metal housing (1) serves as a radiator of the antenna device;
wherein the two radiating parts comprise a first radiating part (13) and a second radiating part (14) serving as ground, the first radiating part (13) is located between the third edge and the first slit (11), the radiating circuit comprises a first feeding point (2), a ground point (3) and a first matching circuit (4), the first feeding point (2) and the ground point (3) are provided in the second radiating part (14), the first feeding point (2) is electrically coupled to the first radiating part (13) via the first matching circuit (4), and the first radiating part (13) is electrically coupled to the ground point (3);
characterized in that the first slit zone (12) partitions the metal housing (1) to form a frame body; the radiating circuit comprises a switch (103), the switch (103) comprises a first end (131) and a second end (132), the first end (131) is electrically coupled to the frame body, and the second end (132) is electrically coupled to one of the metal strips (114); the radiating circuit further comprises a second matching circuit (6) and a second feeding point (5) electrically coupled to the first radiating part (13) via the second matching circuit (6), two first slit zones (12) are provided, each of the first edge and the second edge is longer than each of the third edge and the fourth edge, one of the two first slit zones (12) is in physical contact with the first edge and the first slit (11), the first matching circuit (4) is located between the ground point (3) and the said first slit zone (12), and the other first slit zone (12) is in physical contact with the third edge and the first slit (11), the said other first slit zone (12) is located between the second matching circuit (6) and the ground point (3).
The antenna device according to claim 1, wherein the partitioning member (20) further comprises a second slit (17) and a second slit zone (18) comprising a plurality of slits, the radiating circuit further comprises a third matching circuit (8) and a third feeding point (7), the second slit zone (18) is in physical contact with the second slit (17) and the edge of the metal housing separately so that the partitioning member (20) partitions the metal housing (1) into the first radiating part (13), the second radiating part (14) and a third radiating part (19), the second slit (17) extends from the first edge to the second edge, the second slit (17) is adjacent to the fourth edge, the third radiating part (19) is located between the fourth edge and the second slit (17), the third feeding point (7) is electrically coupled to the third radiating part (19) via the third matching circuit (8), and the third radiating part (19) is electrically coupled to the second radiating part (14).
The antenna device according to claim 2, wherein the second slit zone (18) is in physical contact with the fourth edge and the second slit (17), and the third matching circuit (8) is located between the ground point (3) and the second slit zone (18).
The antenna device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the radiating circuit further comprises a fourth matching circuit (10) and a fourth feeding point (9) electrically coupled to the third radiating part (19) via the fourth matching circuit (10), the fourth matching circuit (10) is located between the second slit zone (18) and the ground point (3), and the second slit zone (18) is located between the third matching circuit (8) and the fourth matching circuit (10).
The antenna device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a slit is formed between two adjacent metal strips (114), and the slit has a width of 0.05mm∼0.3mm, or,
a slit width of the slit is less than or equal to 0.2mm, or,
the slit width of the slit is less than or equal to 0.12mm.
A mobile terminal (100), comprising an antenna device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.